XMen: Everlast
by WhiteZephyr
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Adrestia Bennett was kidnapped four years ago, but now that she's reappeared, the government wants to know how. But the real question is why? And how in the world does a sheltered kid turn into such a deadly assassin due to "Section 7"?
1. Prologue

X-Men:

Everlast

Prologue:

_**7:00am,**_ _**August 17**__**th**__**, 2011**_

"We found this one outside the facility," the soldier told his commanding officer, motioning to the girl sitting at the table in the interrogation room. "She put up a fight, but we managed to calm her down enough to arrest her."

General Phillips looked at the girl through the one-way mirror. She had long silver hair that reached the small of her back, eyes that were so dark they were practically violet, and was wearing tattered clothing that barely clung to her small frame. She couldn't have been older than sixteen.

"Are those chains really necessary, soldier?" he asked.

The soldier straightened. "All due respect, General, I think it's safer if those chains are on, sir."

"Did she wound any of our men?" the General asked as he watched her staring at the table, her gaze unwavering.

"Seven men, sir." The soldier looked at her, almost in a disgusted kind of fear. "She dislocated some limbs, broke a few bones, and even tried to gouge out some eye sockets."

General Phillips could have sworn he saw the girl's mouth move a tiny bit, as if smiling. "How could a kid do that to an entire Special Ops team?"

"I can't say, sir. I just know what I saw." The soldier looked at the General, his eyes pleading to be dismissed.

So the General did just that. "That'll be all, soldier. Back on duty."

The soldier quickly snapped to attention and saluted, and then he made his way out to his patrol. The General studied the girl for a few moments longer before he looked to his technicians.

"Has anyone found any genetic matches?" he asked.

A technician beckoned him over. "Sir, the DNA sample given to us has just been analyzed, and the results were sent here."

The General peered over the technicians shoulder. "But she looks… different."

The girl in the picture had eyes so blue it was like staring at the sky, and short brown hair that only reached the nape of her neck. She also looked much younger, and after checking the date, it appeared to be taken when she was twelve; four years ago.

"Adresteia Bennett has been missing for four years, taken from her school," the technician read. "The genetic code matches, but still…"

"You never hear a name like that anymore," another technician piped up.

There were a few nods and murmurs of agreement. The General sighed.

"I'll work with this. Monitor everything that happens in that room!" he ordered swiftly and marched into the interrogation room.

The girl didn't even look at him as he sat down. He stared at her for a few moments, wondering if she would look at him, but when she didn't, he cleared his throat to speak.

And yet she beat him to it. "Adresteia Bennett… It's a familiar name," she said. "I can't say that I've used a name in a long time. It's almost a relief to hear a name instead of a number."

The General regained his composure. "A number?"

"Subject 48069B. I've gone by that for the past four years." She leaned back in her chair. "Strange… It feels so much longer than that."

Leaning forward, the General pushed a folder towards the girl. "Recognize these people?"

The girl studied the General for a moment before she reached forward and opened the file, her eyes scanning the pictures intelligently.

"Yes," she answered after a few moments. She placed each picture on the table and spun them around so General Phillips could see them. "The man here was the one who brought me to that place. And this one was the one I saw every day when he would come to give me 'treatments'." As she moved to the last picture, the General could have sworn he saw a tiny flash of anger appear for a moment on her face, but it vanished as soon as it appeared. "And this man is the one who used to beat me when I would misbehave."

The General nodded and grabbed one last picture from the folder, then tentatively pushed it towards her. "And this man?"

She only looked at the picture for a second before she looked back at the General and said in a calm, straight voice, "That's the first man I was ordered to kill."

"Ordered?" the General repeated.

She nodded slowly. "By the man in black."

The General leaned back in his chair and folded his hands neatly on his stomach. "You're admitting that you willingly killed this man?"

She shook her head. "I never said willingly."

"Then what're you saying, Miss Bennett?" the General prodded.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she reopened them, her face somehow more serious than before. General Phillips' curiosity about her only grew—a kid killer, who could easily best his Special Ops team, and keep the straightest face he'd ever seen no matter what pressure he put on her.

"Do you really want to know the answer to that question, General Phillips?" she asked. "It may take a while to answer, if you're willing to listen to it all."

The General didn't move. "There's an explanation behind it?"

She slowly nodded. "Yes, General. Are you willing to listen?"

The General sat straight in his chair and moved his hands to the table. "I have time," he said firmly.

The girl nodded again. "Then be sure to listen carefully, sir. This story begins four years ago; just when I realized that I was slightly different from other kids my age."

"Slightly?"

"Everything I did—jumping, running, lifting—was exceptionally better than other kids my age. A few days after I realized this, some men came to my school's playground at recess, claiming to be there to pick me up. My parents, of course, had given my sisters and I the 'talk' about strangers, but they said my parents were in trouble, so I went with them." She paused, as if remembering the events. "They knocked me out, and when I came to, I was alone, in a cell."

The General narrowed his eyes. "Where, exactly?"

She shook her head. "I don't know specifics, but I do know what it's called."

"What?"

Underneath the table, the girl's fist clenched. "Section 7."


	2. Without a Trace

Chapter One:

Without a Trace

_**3:07pm, November 4**__**th**__**, 2007**_

__I dodged and rolled out of the way of the men of "Section 7" as they tried to grab me. I was just too fast for them, but that didn't seem to falter them. Eventually, I tripped and fell into one of the men. They quickly rushed at me and grabbed my arms and legs. Strong as I was, I still couldn't overpower a grown man who'd obviously trained for this stuff.

They slammed me against the wall and put the white-hot metal against my skin. I cried out in pain, but the guards were smiling, and pushed the metal harder against my skin. That's when I realized that, in here, I'd get no pity. I was truly alone.

When they were finished with me, they left me in my cell to cry. I wasn't even sure if I could anymore, as I believed that my tear ducts had literally run out. I gritted my teeth and tried to be strong, but it was getting harder every day.

"So, they finally branded you?"

I nodded. "You were right… It really does hurt."

In the cell next to mine was a boy about a year or two older than me. He said that he'd been in there so long, he'd forgotten his name. I heard the men in the white coats call him "Subject 29063A", and so he said for me to call him "29". I couldn't make out his features because of how dark the rooms were, but I knew that he was bigger than I was with short hair. I guessed it was a darker colour, because if it was a lighter colour then the tiny amount of light we had in the prison would reflect off of it.

He leaned against the bars as he sat. "Are you gonna be okay?" he asked quietly.

I sat against the bars to his immediate left and muttered, "I just wanna go home."

"I know how that feels." 29 reached into the bars and squeezed my shoulder in reassurance. "Don't worry. I'll be here for you."

I held his hand and nodded. "And I will for you."

_**7:46am, August 17**__**th**__**, 2011**_

__"So this guy… 29 you said his name was?" the General asked.

The girl nodded. "29 was in there longer than I had been. He was like me, but better. In those conditions, he persevered, and that made him a favourite target of the Sticks."

"Sticks?"

"They were the sanctioned guards. 29 and I called them Sticks because that's what they used to hit us with when we 'misbehaved'."

The General sighed and then studied the girl. "Why would you tell me all of this so willingly? What have you to gain?"

She shook her head. "I have nothing to gain, and I have nothing to lose. If I go 'missing' again, I'll at least want someone to know what's been going on for the past several years—under a radar that doesn't seem to exist."

General Phillips leaned back and motioned for the girl to continue. She looked at the ceiling, as if trying to remember her place, and then looked back at the General.

"29 and I would be the rebels in that prison, while the other kids who were in there would make their escapes. Sometimes our plan would succeed, and sometimes not, but that didn't stop us. 29 looked out for me, and I him. When we were pitted against each other in the Ring, we would go easy on each other. I'll explain the Ring later, but the most important thing to know about that is that it was the place where survival became everything."

_**6:45pm, August 10**__**th**__**, 2008**_

__"I'm not gonna die here!" I roared as the Sticks attacked. "And I won't die by your hands!"

I let them back me against the wall, and when one came at me I kicked him in the chest and propelled myself upwards. I landed on their faces and kicked once for added emphasis. Today, it was only me and the Sticks in the Ring. No doubt they were assessing how far I'd gotten with the doses they were giving me. I had to admit; I definitely noticed some changes, but they horrified me. I rarely saw 29 anymore, simply because I kicked the door to my cell open one day, and they moved me to a different one, made of a strong kind of plastic. Now I would only see him when we faced each other in the Ring.

The Sticks came at me again, but just as I was about to hit them the bell rang. That meant that the session was over, and the Sticks could go to lick their wounds. The months inside the prison called "Section 7" had taught me things—hard things, but I knew that if I went after the retreating Sticks, I'd pay for it.

"Subject 48069B, please return to your cell," someone said on the intercom.

I turned on my heel and headed towards the open door, where some Sticks would escort me back to the cell. I hated every moment of being in the prison, but I knew that I wouldn't escape like the other kids if I tried every second.

I sat at the table and stared at it, wondering if I could drill holes into it if I stared long enough. Eventually, a tray was placed in front of me, and there were several pills on it. The usual, with an added extra yellow pill. They were upping the dosage on that one, which was strange. I glared up at the Stick, but he crossed his arms and looked at the tray. I knew how it went, so I carefully picked up each pill and placed it in my mouth, then took a swig of water from the cup. The Stick took the cup and gave it to another Stick, but left the tray, which was odd.

I looked down at the tray and noted I could see my reflection; something I hadn't seen in months. Strangely, I didn't recognize myself. My hair was much longer, which was probably a side-effect of one of the pills, and it was very light at the base of my skull. I remembered reading once that, if a person was under a considerable amount of stress, their hair would lose its colour. My eyes were darker than I'd ever seen them, and my face, once a bit round at the cheeks, was firm and sharp. I definitely didn't look twelve, at any rate.

I picked up the tray and saw a piece of paper underneath. I looked around to see if any Sticks were watching me and swiped it from under the tray, and then quickly read it.

_48,_

Escape. Four years today. Planned it. Be brave. Follow rules until then. Keep count. Be ready.

_29_

I memorized the note and remembered the day, then slipped the note back under the tray. The Stick finally came back in and grabbed the tray; the note along with it. I decided to remember that Stick's face, so I wouldn't hit him too badly when 29 and I would finally leave.

_Get ready, you guys,_ I thought as a smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth. _I'll make sure that you feel every bit of pain that I'll feel for the next four years!_


	3. I am the Drone

Chapter Two:

I am the Drone

_**8:19am, August 17**__**th**__**, 2011**_

"So, because of a note this '29' guy snuck to you, you withstood whatever beating and whatever treatment Section 7 gave you." The General shook his head. "That means that it was about a week ago that you made your escape. Seems a bit far-fetched."

The girl shook her head. "I actually escaped two weeks earlier than planned, General."

He leaned back in his chair, studying the girl. "A week? What happened?"

"I was sent to kill that man," she replied coolly. "After I did, I saw my chance and escaped."

"And what did you do?"

The girl's gaze, steady and confident, wavered for only a moment. "I went home."

_**5:17pm, August 3**__**rd**__**, 2011**_

__I stared up at the house. I'd remembered it when I was a kid, because I used to admire it all the time. It was a simple house, with large archways and a full garden. Brown roof, brown shutters, and tan stone siding. I'd always loved it.

I slung the navy blue duffel bag over my shoulder and stared at it for a while longer. What if they weren't there? What if they were? What would I do? I knew that I had been gone for four whole years, and yet, to me, it felt like a lifetime.

_I've just killed someone. What would they think of that? Plus, I don't exactly look like myself anymore. Thank-you, man in black._

A little girl came out of the house and waved to an older one, both smiling. I remembered them: my sisters. One had been four years older than I, and the other four years younger.

"Neveah…" I muttered. "Mireya…"

Mireya, my older sister, had dark blonde hair and brown eyes. She was always smiling; I couldn't remember a time when she wasn't. And then Neveah, my younger sister, had the same hair and eyes as Mireya, and was so wild. She'd never shut-up, no matter what you did.

I was so busy staring at them that I didn't move out of the way of the gate when Nev (Neveah's old nickname) pushed it open. I barely moved though—physical pain barely phased me anymore.

"I'm sorry!" Nev quickly exclaimed, and then ran off. I saw a backpack on her back—the very one I used when I was twelve, a plain blue backpack. She was going to school.

I watched her go for a time before I heard the gate open again. Mira (Mireya's old nickname) studied my face, which I'd known had become emotionless and cold. My brown hair was gone, replaced by silver, and my eyes were so dark they were very nearly violet.

"You're not from around here, are you?" she asked.

I tilted my head. "What gives you that impression?"

"Well, for one, I don't know you, which says a lot." Mira motioned to my duffel bag. "And you're carrying a duffel bag,"

I nodded. "In some ways, you could say I'm not from around here."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

I almost smiled. Mira always had the biggest heart. "I don't. I've been looking for some people to stay with."

"You know who they are?"

"The Bennetts."

"Well, here we are," she said, smiling. "Why were you looking for us? I mean, you kinda already met my little sister, Nev, and then there's me, Mira. We're the only Bennetts left."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Mira sighed. "Our mom and dad died two years ago. Depression. They never did get over Addy…"

_So, mom and dad are dead…_ I tried to find something in my heart to mourn them, but I just couldn't. _And it's my fault…_

"I'm sorry," I told her.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for. It was a while ago." Mira smiled again. "Anyway, why were you looking for us?"

I was about to answer when I heard a scream. Mira and I ran along the sidewalk to the source, and what we found not only pissed me off, it sent a burning rage throughout every fibre of my being.

"Let her go!" I yelled.

The two men in black looked at me, and one smiled. "Well, if it ain't my favourite playtoy? You tried to escape us, and we came lookin'."

"What kind of sick bastards are you to kidnap another Bennett?" I asked as I rested my duffel bag on the ground. "What do you hope to accomplish?"

The men threw Nev to the ground, and she quickly sprinted over to us. Mira held onto Nev tight as she tried to keep from crying.

"Get in the van!" the Stick ordered (I remembered him to be the one who took enjoyment in beating me over the past four years). "Let's run this Mutie down!"

I sighed. "These guys never learn…" I looked to Mira. "Move to the side a bit. You don't wanna get hit."

Mira moved quickly, and I knew she was thinking about bringing me with her. The Sticks floored the gas pedal and sped towards me. I allowed the van to get close, and watched their smiles turn to grins.

"Let's see how you like dying every day," I said, and flipped the van over my head.

It soared through the air and landed on the concrete more than ten metres away, since I didn't want to overdo it. The Sticks crawled out of the flipped van and took aim at me with guns, but both my duffel bag and I were already behind them.

I dropped it on the ground and unzipped it, taking out two handguns and aiming them at the two Sticks.

"Too bad you gave me all the ammo and weapons I would need to take out my target, eh guys?"

I shot their hands, their guns spinning through the air and slamming into the ground, breaking into a million pieces. Then I decided to drop my guns and got into the stance I'd become so familiar with in the Ring. The Sticks attacked me, but I used what they'd taught me against them and utilized what they'd done to me by amplifying my powers. I knew I was a Mutant, ever since a few days before I was taken.

I punched one in the face, sending him flying into a brick building, and then grabbed the other one by the collar of his shirt and started to punch his lights out. I stopped for a moment to see if he was still alive.

He grinned and spat some blood at the ground. "Is that all you got, Bennett?"

I released him and let him fall to the ground. "I'm done with you. You're not worth it, and I won't become the people who stole me from my family."

I kicked my guns into the duffel bag when I heard a shot and felt a tingling on my skin. A bullet fell to the ground behind me, and I turned to look at the Stick.

"Try that again," I said, "and I'll kill you too."

He smiled and fired again, this time hitting my forehead. The bullet fell to the ground as well, and that's when the Stick realised his mistake.

"Not smart." I grabbed the van and tossed it into the air, then jumped after it and used my momentum to streak downwards into the van, and into the Stick lying on the ground. I found my way out of the twisted metal and zipped-up my duffel bag. "Idiot."

I shouldered the bag and started to walk away when I felt a hand grab my arm. Mira stared at me hard, holding my arm and Nev's hand.

"Did he just call you 'Bennett'?" she asked.

I remembered the last time my sister had stared at me like she was now. When I had been beaten up by a kid at school and refused to tell who it was, believing that I could take care of myself. My sister grabbed my arms and stared at me hard, but I didn't tell her a thing.

I looked at Nev, who was nearly half my height. Small for her age, like I'd been. She was looking up at me as if she'd just seen the coolest thing in the world, like she used to, even though I'd always commented how annoying she was. But I'd loved her, because she was my baby sister.

"You already know that answer, Mira," I said to my older sister (who I was as tall as). "There's no need to ask me. Now, I think I have to go. I don't want to cause any more trouble for you two. _Especially_ you two."

But Mira held on tighter. "You've got to be friggin' kidding me! Addy… is that you?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't come up with one. But Mira knew it was me, and that's when she started to cry. She released my arm and caught me in such a hug that it was hard for me to breathe. Nev, old as she was, didn't seem to understand what was going on.

"Oh God! Addy!" Mira cried. "Addy…"

My brows furrowed a tiny bit. "Let's get you two out of the street."

When I'd gotten us back to the house, Mira was hugging Nev, who was as clueless as ever. Did she even remember me?

"I have to go," I said bluntly. "If they're targeting this family, I might as well go back so they won't go after Nev again."

"No!" Mira exclaimed. "I'm not letting you go again! You were gone for _four_ _years_, Addy! I won't lose my sister again!"

I paused. "I'm sorry to hear about mom and dad. If I could have escaped sooner, I would have."

"What happened to you?" Mira asked.

"You mean what I can do?"

Mira nodded.

I leaned back on the couch and took in the scent of my home. So familiar, yet so strange at the same time. It was a distant memory.

"A few days before I was taken, I found out I could do things better than a lot of people. I was smarter, faster, stronger—you get the picture. When I was taken, they amplified it all. Now I'm even smarter, even faster, and even stronger."

"That must be why Storm came to our house…" Mira muttered.

I tilted my head in confusion.

"Um… Well, before you went missing, Storm—you know, from Xavier's school—came to our house. That's when dad told us to go upstairs. I recognized her from the news, so I eavesdropped, and I heard that you had the X-gene. I was so scared for you, and so were mom and dad, so they refused to let you go. And then you were gone, and mom and dad thought Storm had taken you. Since she's the new Headmaster, she dealt with mom and dad personally, and sent a ton of Mutants out to help the police search for you."

If an emotion could be on my face, it would be surprise. "I was supposed to go to Xavier's?"

Mira nodded. "I was really scared for you…"

"There's no need to be." I patted my duffel bag. "I can take care of myself. I'm leaving, but I suggest you two go into hiding for a bit. The Sticks don't give up."

_**8:31am, August 17**__**th**__**, 2011 **_

__"So, your sister knew you had the X-gene, and so did your parents, and a few days later you were taken away by Section 7…" The General smirked. "Sounds to me like Ororo's got a rat on her hands."

"Many Mutants are defecting to make a new Brotherhood. Some still believe that Mutants are the superior species," the girl replied.

"Do you?" the General asked simply.

She shook her head. "My family is Human. I am a Mutant. Besides a few things that I can do, I see no difference between us. We are capable of the same things; love, hate, fear, stupidity… Sometimes everyone doesn't see that."

General Phillips pursed his lips. "You've obviously given it a lot of thought."

"I have. The people who kept me in Section 7 were Human. I thought I'd never forgive any Human for being able to become so cruel." The girl shook her head. "And then there was Ryker."

"Ryker?"

She nodded. "Ryker. He was a Human bent on saving everyone. He didn't mind not being 'evolved' like the Mutants; he just worked hard and persevered. He and 29 were similar like that, and very different."

"And how were they different, Miss Bennett?"

"Ryker was _good_."

The General blinked. "But… what about 29?"

"We aren't there yet in the story, General," she said. "But we aren't far from it.

General Phillips crossed his arms. "Very well. What did you do after finding your sisters?"

"I tried to leave," she told him. "I tried, but I found I couldn't. Mira wouldn't let me, and Nev was starting to remember me. Mira told me that Nev was so distraught about my disappearance that she blocked it from her head, and totally forgot about me. And so Mira let Nev live in that fantasy, and took down every picture of me that mom and dad hadn't."

"Sounds like they were trying not to remember you."

The girl leaned forward. "General, how would you feel if you had to live with something you believed was your fault? My parents and sisters believed that something could have been done; that I could have been protected. If you had to look at a picture of that every day to remind you of your failure, wouldn't you get rid of it? Wouldn't you try to get rid of the pain, the guilt, just so you could try to live one more day?"

The General paused. "So… what happened to your friend 29? You abandoned him in Section 7."

"I didn't abandon him," the girl said, her voice becoming cold once more. "I left him behind before he could leave me behind. He said that we'd escape on the 10th of August, and he was planning his escape for the 9th."

"So he was going to double-cross you…"

"There was a reason 29 befriended me in that prison," she said. "He wanted me to take the blame for when he escaped."

"And how'd you find this out?" the General asked.

The girl leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. "He was under the influence of a new drug, and he was bragging to me as if I was him. He told me everything."


	4. The Fighting Never Stops

Chapter Three:

The Good Meets the Bad

_**4:09am, August 6**__**th**__**, 2011 **_

__It was strange to open my eyes and not see the foreboding roof of my cell. For a moment, I forgot where I was. And then I remembered that I'd found my sisters and saved Nev from Section 7.

_They won't give up until I'm back in their custody… or dead._ I closed my eyes and rubbed them. _I'm not gonna put Nev and Mira in that situation! I need to leave!_

Stranger still was seeing that my room was exactly how I'd left it, except no one had come in during the four years I'd been gone. No one could bear to look at my room, as if I'd left it like I was coming home, which I had. There was dust everywhere, and even though Mira had washed the sheets for me, they still smelt pretty bad. Not that I was complaining; it was an improvement from the cell. A big one.

For the past few days I'd been staying with my sisters, Nev constantly being around me started to annoy me, but I welcomed it, and silently prayed that she wouldn't stop, only let-off just a little bit. I was always watching the movements outside, and Mira didn't let Nev go to school (which Nev thought was the most amazing thing she'd heard of since toast).

Mira had leant me an old shirt of hers, and it was definitely softer than the prison clothes I'd been wearing, even though those didn't cling to me so tightly. I'm not saying that I'm outta shape, it's just that I'd never liked clothing that stuck to your skin. I liked it loose, but enough to show figure. That's the only reason I liked the prison clothes.

"What's that on your back?" Mira asked as she set some eggs in front of me (and I was glad that she'd improved drastically in her cooking).

"A brand," I answered simply.

Mira started to lift the shirt a bit. "May I?"

"Go ahead."

She lifted the shirt enough so she could see the brand I'd been given by the Sticks. She also saw the scars of every beating I got, and every time they made me fight against the other kids in that Hellhole.

"It says, '48069B'," Mira read.

"That's my number," I told her. "They brand you when you first get to that place with hot iron."

"Oh God…" Mira muttered.

"And those scars are nothing, so don't worry about them. Everyone gets at least one scar during their lifetime."

"And this is enough for seven!" Mira exclaimed. "What the hell happened?"

"It's nothing," I repeated. "I survived, and that's all I'm going to say on it."

Mira shook her head. "Addy, we're sisters! Please, you need to tell me what went on!"

"You can't help me in any way if I did," I told her. "I'd only be putting you and Nev at risk. The way I see it is that I must turn myself over to Section 7, or you two will suffer for it."

Mira frowned. "Do you think I give a damn about that? I just got my sister back, and even though she seems like a bit of a cold bitch, I'm not gonna let her go!"

"They usually get their way," I cautioned.

"And I'm a trained professional on how to get your way," she replied, smirking. "I got _you_ to stay, didn't I?"

I nodded as the door opened. I grabbed the two handguns out of my duffel bag and pointed them at the door, ready to fire.

A young guy and an older woman were standing in the doorway. The woman had grey-white hair and deep grey eyes, with bronzed skin and pursed lips, while the guy, who was probably around my own age, had spiky red hair, pale skin and light blue eyes.

The woman held up a hand. "Rest easy, we do not come with an intention of attack."

I didn't flinch at a thing she said, but when Mira put a hand on my shoulder I let my arms fall to my sides, still holding the guns.

"Storm," Mira greeted.

"Please, call me Ororo." Ororo looked at me and smiled weakly. "Adresteia Bennett, I presume?"

I stared coldly at her. "In the flesh, fortunately."

"Please, do not be afraid or suspicious. I have only come to speak with you. It is of the utmost importance."

"It's about that school, isn't it?"

Ororo shook her head. "We had a tip that you had returned home. We had to make sure, but…"

"But I don't look like me," I finished for her. "I guess things happen."

Mira crossed her arms. "Are you _sure_ that you don't want to recruit her to that school of yours?"

"Your parents made it clear to me four years ago that they did not want her to go," Ororo said. "I respect their decision. I will not turn around and try to bring Adresteia into the school just because they have passed."

Mira nodded. I sighed and glared at the boy beside Ororo, wondering who the hell he was and what he was doing at my home. He finally caught me looking and almost shrunk back.

Ororo noticed as well. "This is Ryker, one of the students at Xavier's school. He accompanied me to get some fieldwork into his curriculum."

"Morning," he greeted half-heartedly.

I frowned, but suddenly tensed. I glanced out the window and saw some men in black lining up around the house.

"Friends of yours?" I asked Ororo.

She seemed to know what I was talking about. "No. I saw them about an hour ago, a mile away from this house."

I looked to Mira. "Get Nev downstairs, and stay there with her."

"But—!"

"This is gonna get ugly." Just as Mira closed the door downstairs, I twirled the handguns I had and sighed. "They'll never give up…"

"These are the men who had you?" Ororo asked me as she and Ryker came closer to me.

"Yeah. They were stupid enough to give me all the guns and ammo I needed to kill a single man, and I escaped from them with it all."

"Why kill someone?" Ryker asked.

"Section 7 needed some people taken out because they either abandoned what they were working on for Section 7, or they needed someone out of the way." I watched the men carefully as they started to pass out AK-47's. "They took me and other kids for one purpose, and one purpose alone: to breed the perfect Mutant assassins."

Ororo got out a phone and dialled a number, but didn't speak into her phone. I looked at her curiously.

She smiled. "I am calling reinforcements. We will force them out."

I nodded. "But first, let's have some fun!"

_**8:53am, August 17**__**th**__**, 2011**_

__"An army of men from Section 7 surrounded the house, and you got your sisters into the basement so you could fight them?"

She nodded in confirmation.

The General frowned. "Why not just go under with your sisters? What about a back door? Do you have something against escaping from anywhere besides Section 7?"

"I believed I was done with running," she told the General. "So I decided to make a stand there."

"Then why are you here?" General Phillips asked.

"We aren't there yet, are we, General?" The girl absently tapped her hand against the table. "You'll just have to wait and listen."

_**7:00am, August 6**__**th**__**, 2011**_

__I fired my guns, and several men went down. I didn't miss a shot. Ororo and Ryker were kicking some serious ass outside while I held down the house. I saw some civilians running around, unsure of what to do. It made me wonder what I would have done, if I hadn't been the one that Section 7 was targeting.

Ororo, from out of nowhere, called down some lightning on the men. Ryker was strangely strong, like me, but sometimes it was hard even for _my_ eyes to keep track of where he was going.

Eventually, I dropped my guns, seeing as the damage to the house was exceeding what I'd wanted it to be, and charged outside, my fist connecting with one of the many lackey's of Section 7. I slammed my fist into whoever was near, dodging bullets as best I could. I knew my limits, and I wasn't willing to test them. I brought my knee up into someone's groin, and then tossed him into one of his friends. They both slammed into a car and didn't move after that.

Ororo, however, was the one who really caused some collateral damage. Within a few minutes, all of the men from Section 7 were lying on the ground, moaning in pain, or not at all.

She landed beside me and surveyed the damage. "There will be more," she said.

I nodded. "I know what I need to do to keep my sisters safe."

"If you keep running, they'll always find you," Ororo advised.

"I won't be running," I told the older woman. "If you'll have us, we'll stay at that school for a bit. It may be a bit uncomfortable at first, but I'm asking that you put my sisters under your protection."

Ororo nodded. "I can do that. However, you will have to speak to your sisters first."

"I know." I headed inside and put my guns in the duffel bag, then quickly went upstairs and dressed into a new T-shirt and jeans, which Mira had seemed to have gotten for me. I came back down the stairs and opened the basement door. "Hey, Nev, Mira, we're good up here. You can come out now."

My sisters came out of the basement. They couldn't speak as they observed the damage.

"Sorry," I said. "Look; pack some things. We're heading to that school with Ororo. They'll keep you safe."

"Us?" Mira repeated. "What about you?"

"I'll stay for a bit, but not long. There's some business I need to take care of."


	5. Day of Death

Chapter Four:

A Day of Death

_**9:00am, August 17**__**th**__**, 2011**_

The girl was silent for a few moments, which prodded the General to question her further, but in his head. He couldn't ask out loud, for fear that she would refuse to answer, so he asked a simple question.

"You went to the X-Mansion…" General Phillips started, "and then you came here?"

The girl shook her head. "No. There were a few… events in-between."

"Such as?"

She tapped a finger on the table. "A few days after my sisters and I reached the mansion, 29 was at the gates. He'd been sent by the man in black, and I found out that 29 was that bastard's son. He wanted 29 to become the 'perfect' Mutant."

"Was he successful?" the General prodded.

"Obviously not. I'm here now, aren't I?"

The General was slightly distracted by the continuous tapping on the table. "You killed your best friend when you were in captivity? Why?"

"He wasn't a friend; he was an ally. You should know the difference, General." The girl stopped tapping, as if she knew it was bothering him. "I killed him for my sisters. He put a knife up to Nev's throat, and I wasn't gonna let him get away with it."

General Phillips rubbed his eyes. "No detailed description? What's the matter?"

For just an instant, the girl's eyes looked sad. "I've run out of time," she answered simply.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been tracked here. I needed to let the government know what's going on in Section 7, so you can get everyone the hell outta there. In a few minutes, I'll be dead."

The General's brow furrowed. "I can't say I understand…"

"Section 7 will stop at nothing to kill me. I've already said good-bye to them, and I may have had to knock them out so I could leave, but the people at the X-Mansion are good, and Ryker swore on his life that he'd protect them, Mutants or not." She seemed to sigh inwardly. "Long story short, I let myself be brought here to tell a story, and to die. I'm not so stupid that I would not see it coming."

"But you're safe in here! No one can—!"

"Breach the perimeter?" She smiled and chuckled, ever so slightly. "My dear General, someone already has."

The General sprang from his chair and left the room, and went into the adjoining room. "Scan the area!" the General ordered the men and women who had been listening to the conversation. "Now!"

After a few seconds, a woman quickly motioned for the General to take a look at her monitor. The General glanced at it and saw a man in black, running away from the facility. He didn't even have to look through the one-way mirror to know that Adresteia Bennett was dead.

The General got some soldiers into the interrogation room and ordered them to take the body away and put it in the morgue. He would personally inform her sisters of her death.

General Phillips immediately dispatched a battalion of troops to the location that Adresteia had written down on her arm, maybe only an hour before her death. Section 7's employees and employers were tried and sentenced within the next few months, and the Mutants they captured were free.

And even the General, who had not been overly fond of Mutants in the first place, could admit that Adresteia was as close to a Human as you could get.


	6. Author's Notes

Author's Notes:

In all honesty I've wanted to do a short _X-Men_ story for a few years now. I didn't put in all I wanted to put in, but that's because I've been working on different stories, and I realized that I can't over-stress myself by working on two stories at a time. So, I ended _X-Men: Everlast_ pretty quickly, but I'm working on other projects. And I think I can be cut some slack, considering how many chapters _Assassin's Creed: Agent of Altair_ was, and how many stories I did for _inFAMOUS_.

I didn't have much inspiration for this one. Just random stuff and some fight scenes. I like practicing fight scenes and all that, considering whenever I used to write, it consisted of, "And so he punched him and then kicked him. He felt it." Pathetic. So, I guess I make shorter stories to practice, but continue with a story.

But yeah, that was _X-Men: Everlast_. I hope you enjoyed it, and please review and all that. I like reviews a lot!


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